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Samsung announced its Q1'16 earnings results today, 50.94 trillion KRW revenue and 8.14 trillion KRW operating profit which makes 16.0% operating margin rate. The handset business of Samsung has been showing constant growth in unit volumes. However, both revenue and operating profit have declined. Mobile division which includes handset business unit recorded 26.07 trillion KRW in revenue. Operating profit of IM(IT and Mobile) group recorded 4.32 trillion KRW, which makes 16.3% operating margin. This is the highest operating margin since Q3’14.

The iPhone SE is a very competent smartphone which targets an underserved market segment of consumers who want a compact smartphone which is fast and offers a great camera experience. Of iPhone models in active use, 29% are iPhone 5 models with four inch screens, and 23% are even older iPhone models with screens sized just three and one half inches.

At MWC 2016, the major leading smartphone makers launched new flagship smartphones as well as a new range of VR 360 degree smart accessory cameras. Including, Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge; Xiaomi Mi5; and notably LG's G5 with a modular expansion capability; and Alcatel's Idol 4S which is bundled with a VR headset .

IHS believes LG must take radical steps such as these to make its smartphone business stand out, because unless LG succeeds with the G5, VR camera and smart accessories, on LG's old trajectory IHS forecasted LG's smartphone shipments would decline 3% in 2016. Key to LG's differentiation will be its modular smartphone hardware, not VR. No other current smartphone maker has anything similar. Importantly, the modular smart accessories offer LG ways to generate profits adjacent to the commoditizing smartphone market.

Gear 360 is a marketing vehicle for the Galaxy S7, as well as Samsung's Gear VR headset. IHS expects Samsung smartphones will outsell the Gear 360 by over one thousand times this year. In a mature smartphone market, smartphone makers compete with their older selves to drive consumers to upgrade their existing smartphones.

Samsung grew revenue and profit in Q3 2015 on the back of improving mid and low end smartphone shipments. M Business unit which includes smartphone business posted 26.61 trillion Korean won (KRW) revenue in Q3'15. This is up 8% YoY and 2% QoQ. Operating profit was 2.4 trillion KRW, which reflects 9% of margin rate.

Mobile operator Orange has launched a range of new smartphone aimed at lowering the barrier to entry to 4G. The devices range in price between €79 and €239 and will be on sale across all of Orange's European footprint.

Android One, Google’s program to get stock Android devices on low cost devices in emerging markets, is launching in 6 African countries: Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Morocco. This extension of the program is driven by a new device launch from Hong Kong-based Infinix.

Samsung launched two new flagship smartphones, the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+. While these releases were anticipated, Samsung is launching ahead of schedule to try to maximise its momentum before Apple launches new iPhones in late September. The cost for this early release appears to be a staggered regional launch. Samsung also finally launched its payment service which it initially announced in February 2015.

LTE broadcast has garnered interest from operators and vendors alike in 2014. 19 operators in 13 countries have already trialled it, with 1 operator already operating a service. This reports looks at the benefits of LTE broadcast and the applications it can be used for.

Samsung is finally launching a smartphone powered by its homemade operating system, Tizen. Samsung is launching the Z1 exclusively in India. Unusually for an OS launch product, the Z1 does not feature high-end hardware to show off the new software. Despite the launch, IHS does not believe that Tizen will make a significant impact on the smartphone market. It is much more likely that Tizen's impact will be felt in the wearables market.

Samsung has announced two moves aimed at reducing its cost base as it struggles to maintain its level of profitability and its market share. Samsung is moving more manufacturing to Vietnam and reducing the number of different devices in its portfolio next year. Samsung has come under intense pressure from low cost smartphone brands such as Xiaomi and Micromax in emerging markets which has stalled its growth.